Build the Perfect Sandcastle

Learn the secret to creating a magnificent sculpture in minutes

No matter whether you're young or old, building sandcastles on the beach never goes out of style. If you're shore-bound this summer, try this trick to create perfect towers every time: Use a cylinder.

You can create one by cutting the bottom out of a plastic coffee can or cup and use that instead of a bucket. It will make the difference between a castle that crumbles and one that holds up. "It's hard to get the right sand-to-water ratio in a bucket," says master sand sculptor Lucinda Wierenga, author of Sandcastles Made Simple. "If it's too dry it crumbles, and if it's too wet it won't slide out easily." A cylinder solves both problems, since excess water can drain out.

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Before you get to digging and stacking, however, make safety a priority. "Sand isn't very stable," says Butch Arbin, captain of the Ocean City Beach Patrol in Maryland. "Once you dig a hole, it can cave in and collapse on the person digging. It doesn't take a very deep hole to trap a child." So keep a close eye on your kids and don't allow them to dig a hole deeper than knee-height of the shortest child, he advises.